LarsOlson
Hello. I'm also on the C2.com wiki too, if you've seen that before. I've installed coLinux because I am dissatisfied with the speed and clunkiness of VNC. FreeNX is cool for Linux, in Linux..but that's more for remote control. I'm using Co Linux as a power user. To be able to compile linux programs from windows is useful when you have no time to maintain multiple systems. People need to spend less time maintaining hardware and operating systems, if they are for example are a CGI developer. I'm also working on some software that lets you use two computer systems at once though. I don't see as much use for remote controls (just toys) as I do with power desktop tools like coLinux. I've heard bad things about CygWin, and it's kind of bloaty from what I've read.. so I'm giving coLinux a try. Want to have linux running inside windows, without another hardware box? You can do it in Co Linux, but not with FreeNX or VNC alone. This is what drew me to coLinux. Linux is a nice server OS, but the tools available and ease of development, and ease of bank-robbery style money for GUI/IDE development is still in Windows. That's why I use coLinux. Otherwise, if I was honest and true, I'd have to ditch windows and use true Linux for the desktop, running on Free Hardware. But until then, coLinux. So I use Linux as the CGI/Webserver, compiler, and Windows as the Development/GUI environment. I am mainly using coLinux for ELF CGI development, since Linux servers are far more powerful (CGI and .htaccess wise) than Windows servers, and far more available. I'll be writing HOWTO's on coLinux and pointing you to them here. I'll post some of them at http://Z505.com when I make a site section for coLinux. ---- Newcomers to coLinux: Remember when you first get coLinux running to log in as Login.......: root Password: root The outdated tuturial on this wiki doesn't explain this.. only the updated one does. ---- Some new pages I started that need to be worked on *CoLinuxBatchFiles *CommandLineReference *CoLinuxScreenshots *... ---- HOWTO's *Coming soon *... ---- Screenshots, videos, and practical use of coLinux *CoLinuxScreenshots *... ---- Using windows software to connect to coLinux remotely. *My first focus will be on the freepascal compiler. *Since I find the freepascal IDE a bit obsolete compared to some program like delphi, text505, editplus, etc., I have built a client/server setup to compile ELF executables in windows. *I don't want to use an X server with coLinux, because that might involve CYGWIN or some other software. I want to fire up a windows IDE or text editor like Text505, Dev-Pascal, or Lazarus IDE for win32 and compile pascal code in Linux from windows. Now this is possible with coLinux, you see, and a client/server setup. *The client/server I built basically talks to the command line and calls upon FPC with command line arguments. So now, I can use windows IDE or software and compile ELF's from these windows softwares. No need to use fp-ide or lazarus or Kdevelop.. I use windows IDE's and text editors along with a remote compiler plug in. *The compiler output is piped (trapped, sniffed) back to the windows software, so you get to debug on windows and compile on Linux. *So the first thing I will be offering is most likely a plug-in for Text505 and Dev-Pascal. Right now, I'm just using everything In-House..so you'll have to wait until I release something! I will look into Lazarus IDE for win32 also, and check out other IDE's. *Some screenshots of some simple remote compiler programs I've built already, can be seen at CoLinuxScreenshots *I will also be working on a gcc (GNU C) remote compiler. I don't use gcc since I'm a FPC advocate, but really it's not that hard for me to help c programmers out! *This client/server set up is really unlimited. I chose it for compiling programs, but it could be used for other things. My next idea might be to install the server program in a linux web server hosting company that does not offer SSH....Then, with this program, I will be able to have remote access to the command line on the web server.. but I haven't thought about all the details yet. *In fact, this is just the beginning really. coLinux is the same as a real Linux computer.. so all the above software will also work on a hardware setup! i.e. if I have linux installed on one desktop in the network, I can now compile programs on the linux desktop or tablet, or laptop. Develop on windows machine, but compile the program on a linux box in the network. *Now this may seem odd to you.. why not just use linux? I have several reasons. There are no good API's for linux for me to build software. In windows, there is KOL, Delphi. Sorry but GTK and Qt just don't cut it for me yet.. I use GnuLinux for servers, CGI, websites, and still Windows for development. I find Linux a powerful Desktop but since I'm a software developer with years of Delphi experience, there is no way I am going to just completely convert over to linux. I might do that if hardware was free and consulting was free and food was free. ---- Some questions I got answered as I learned about coLinux: Q: Would colinux run an apache web server using the default TAP/NAT connection that coLinux installed for me? A: Yes, I have this running. You connect by default to 192.168.0.40 once you have apache installed and configured, with the defualt networking set up from the coLinux installation. You may have to fool with your router though.. sometimes the networking can conflict with IPs and internet sharing. Which more info can be seen here: CommonDilemmas Q: Would colinux compile programs with a compiler like GNU C compiler (gcc) or freepascal(fpc)? A: Yes, I have compiled a lot of them already. Q:Why would you use coLinux if you could try VNC, VMWare, or FreeNX? A:coLinux is fast and runs the kernel inside windows more directly. VNC uses JPG or other image compression over a network and is too slow to get any real work done. coLinux can be integrated with other windows software through network connections. co Linux acts as if you have another PC on your computer running, but it isn't as slow as an emulator like VMWare or Bochs. coLinux is not for remote desktop control like VNC or FreeNX are. Q:Where are my linux files when running coLinux? A:Your files are all inside one big normal windows file. Your linux distrobution and your "hard drive partition" are actually just one big file. It's a file that you create that ends in extension .1gb, containing your distro and your partition. ---- May 2005 (journal entry 1) Sorry, but Tap/Nat is bugging me and I'm going to have to halt using coLinux for now, because of it. I've been having a lot of trouble with Nat/Tap working reliably. Half of the time the internet connection worked and half of the time it didn't. Even when I set my router IP address up to something unique other than 192.168.0.1. The http apache server running in colinux works half the time, and the internet connection works half the time. Pinging colinux works half the time. So for now, I think I'll take a break with coLinux and go back to using a real linux hardware box remotely from windows with client/server compiling software. :-( Tap/Nat is just too unreliable and unpredicable right now for me. If it was consistent or there were visible reasons to why it was acting up, then I'd continue fiddling. I will come back to coLInux maybe if someone figures out what in the world is wrong Tap/Nat. If it was consistent or there were visible reasons to why it was acting up, then I'd continue fiddling. I will come back to coLinux maybe if someone figures out what in the world is wrong with Nat/Tap? The problem is, coLinux or tap/nat is costing me more maintenance and time than gnulinux on a real laptop/tablet setup would cost me. May 2005 (journal entry 2) Well the hardware setup works fine, but it is slower than coLinux! I can compile programs in at least TWICE faster time in co Linux on a 400Mhz PC than on a hardware setup dedicated to compiling at 133mhz. Maybe the processor is the problem, and coLinux somehow makes use of all the 400MHZ even if it's just a "windows exe program". I thought real linux on real hardware was dedicated and faster even on 133mhz, but definitely not. I'll have to try compiling on a 200mhz hardware setup next. September 2005 (journal entry 1) Well I have ditched TAP/NAT and now am HAPPY TO SAY I'm successfully connecting to the internet on coLinux using WinPCap (bridged network). The first time I tried setting up WinPCap I got an internet connection working just fine. This gives me much more hope now, because I'm working on an embedded freepascal Linux compiler for MS Windows folks, using coLinux. And you just can't live without apt-get, something I've been doing since May when my Tap/Nat went bonkers on me. September 2005 (journal entry 2) coLinux is now successfully powering a system called FakeLinux for Pascal programmers. Now Pascal programmers can build and test Linux CGI programs on MS Windows. With just 2 mouse clicks, a CGI program can be built immediately, and then tested on Apache with one mouse click. The Fake Linux system integrates Pascal Server Pages, Lazarus RB Edition, Remote Compiler 505, and yours truly coLinux. More info and screenshots can be seen at http://z505.com/cgi-bin/qkcont/qkcont.cgi?p=FAKELINUX http://z505.com/cgi-bin/qkcont/qkcont.cgi?p=FAKELINUX-[[ScreenShots]] ----MassTranslated on Sun Apr 23 17:36:24 UTC 2006